Bringing New Life to the Church of England

By Shakeel Nurmahi, Diocese of Peterborough

Shakeel Nurmahi

Across the UK, we are experiencing a challenge in our churches. In my context of the Church of England, we are all too aware of the disappearing demographic of children and young adults in our churches. The Church of England too often feels like a church in which young people are absent. As we consider the future, the Church of England faces the question of how we address the lack of young people in our churches, and what can we

do to ignite faith in the young people of the UK?

To answer this question, I think there is wisdom to found in our sisters and brothers across the Anglican Communion. In 2018, I went with USPG to the Council of Anglican Provinces of Africa (CAPA) Youth Congress, hosted in Nairobi, Kenya. This congress sought to set out a vision for young Anglicans across the continent. Leading bishops invited young people to be the driving force in transforming Anglican churches across Africa. Young people were to be leaders for today. They called on young people to breathe new life and innovation in the Church to grow and develop their nations. They saw the gifts and talents within their young people, and they wanted to nurture and develop these gifts and talents for the benefit of their churches and their communities. CAPA’s energy for young people in their churches was inspiring, and it made me think about life back in the UK. I have encountered churches that are not excited about their young people. Why would young people be interested in a church that doesn’t seem interested in them? We need to find ways of valuing and taking an interest in our young people. Perhaps it could be through inviting them to take part in roles and teams that go into making our Sunday gatherings happen. Maybe it could be asking them for their opinions and creating opportunities to hear their voices. As churches, we need to encourage and support our young people, and this has got to be backed up by our time and our money because it shows our young people that we are serious and that we value them highly. I hope that if we started acting on these things, then like CAPA, we will begin to see young people as the driving and transformational forces in our Church. ■